Tragedy behind Pet Shops

When we pass by pet shops, our eyes fall on adorable dogs in the cages, but we would never truly know how these puppies come from. They are not natively born to be purebred, look attractive and get beautiful fur. A particular male dog and a particular female dog are arranged and forced to pair. Breeding farms are not as comfortable as pet shops. We are supposed to know the tragedy behind the stores.

Ann:

I’m going to uncover the pitiable truth about dog breeding. The merchandisers know that people would buy dogs with beautiful fur colors or pure breeds. Therefore, they would intentionally match the dogs of good breeds, and the puppies would be more gratifying. The cages those dogs stay in would be decided by different breeds in order to be easily recognized by people. They would inject the drug, the aphrodisiac, into the bodies of the female dogs to attract male dogs. The duration that a mature female dog is pregnant and finally gives birth to puppies is about sixty to sixty-five days. That’s about two months. After a month of break, the merchandisers would have the female dogs injected and impregnated again. As a result, we could easily figure out that the female dogs will gradually get tired. Once the female dogs couldn’t give birth anymore, the merchandisers would put them in the cages without any food and water, just leaving them dead there, or if the merchandisers happen to leave for another place tomorrow, they will take those female dogs, put them into a big black bag and throw them away.

The puppies will be classified and checked whether they are healthy or not, and those sick puppies will be abandoned. The probability of abnormal puppies are high since the breeds of mating dogs are close. Hence, the merchandisers want to sell those healthy puppies as fast as they can because they’re not sure whether those puppies would have undiscovered disease and would survive or not. If the puppies aren’t sold out, the good ones would be kept to be the mating dogs. The others would be thrown away.

Their “homes”, the cages, are dirty and small. The space of the cage is only enough to let the dogs stand or lie prone, and the cage is easily getting hotter or colder when the weather changes. The merchandisers don’t take care of those dogs when their nails grow long, so their nails are easily stuck in the cage. When they stand in the cage, the long nails would prick in their soles. It would cause their feet to bleed.

The food is basically rotted rice bran with chicken feed. Also, the merchandisers wouldn’t clean the dogs’ excrement, so the environment is dirty and easily attracts many bugs and mosquitos to bite them. Even, when they feel bored or painful, they couldn’t bark because the merchandisers have already used a steel tube to pierce into their throats and make them hoarse.

Eileen:

My family keeps two dogs. One was a stray dog. She appeared in my elementary school when I was in my third grade. My school called 119 to take her away. I saw fire fighters put her in a big gunny, she struggling with unwillingness as well as tension. I was so young that I didn’t consider how they treated her was a blameful deed. I didn’t take pity on her. Now, I feel shame on myself badly. Later, I saw her show up again in my community. I guessed those fire fighters just released her somewhere not close to my school, but she came back as you can tell. Then, I called her and let her come to my house. I simply thought she was special and extremely cute so I wanted to keep her. When I recall the decision to let her be my family, I think without no doubt, I was right. Another dog in my house was brought back home by my older sister. He was not bought from a pet shop but adopted from an organization. My sister told me that there are many dogs that need a house to live and someone to love them.

Those puppies in pet shops are naïve and showing shining eyes but their parents are suffering great pain in other places we don’t know. If we want to stop what we see in breeding farms, please don’t get moved easily by pretty puppies in the stores. Furthermore, if we are eager to raise dogs, think about those stray dogs and please give them a sweet home.

Work smart

Now people consider “work smart” is better than “work hard”. But before receiving this idea, we should first know the meaning of “work smart”. This term signifies that people no longer just “work hard” to get every thing done but also work with efficiency, with “smart” skills and “smart” approaches to finish the work better.

But there is a developing that twists the original good meaning. Some bosses and employees change the meaning of “work smart”. Those employees would give their works to those who are new in the company. And they turn this “skill” into “work smart”. As a result, “work smart” turns out to be no responsibilities.

After so many lessons employees have learned from the bussiness environment, they start to understand the undefined “rule”. Everybody tries to “work smart”, the surviving principle is to work as less as you can. And gradually the whole system lost its positive, active energy, and the fair value is twisted.

Following the idea of “work hard” is a wrong thing, many new, fresh college students take over the responsibolities of working hard. But there is always someone that standing out from his group. We observe those who become successful and realize they’re “work smart” people.

For example, when being asked to investigate the market price of watermelons, they not only asked one store how much was it, but also investigate others and wrote down the weight of watermelons and prices from each store, plus some analysis and recommandetions to give some valuable suggestions.

From this example, we can see they don’t just do what the boss told them to do, but they understand the need of the question, and hold this important information to search deeper and more accurate. They aren’t just blindly searching for information, but search for what they need to make the searching range smaller and make the searching process faster.

Actually back to the original purpose, we should encourage everybody to work things right and do their best. “Work hard” is good, but work in a more effiecient way to finish the work is better. And the idealst situation is to work with hard-working spirit and use the smart approach, it is to “work hard” and also “work smart”. 

Two interviewees

Today I went to the Microsoft Company to have an interview for the internship. We have a group interview therefore you can see how other people introduce themselves and their performance. When I was in that occasion, it was easy to see who had a better performance judged by three perspectives, confidence, experience and the ability to deal with unexpected situation. At that time, I noticed a girl who is really tall and beautiful.

At first, the interviewer asked us to introduce ourselves one by one. When it was my turn, I was very nervous. As a result, I couldn’t express my ideas clearly. I lost the confidence when I tried to introduce myself in English in 30 seconds. The thing that I am most confident with, speaking English, was not working. I was very disappointed at myself. The other tall, beautiful girl was other way around. She was obviously prepared well that her confidence showed through her speech. She spoke of her club expierence smoothly and steadyly. That was the moment I realized there are many other people who have more clubs expierence than I have, and their clubs’ attribute is diverse. She had expierence of the assitent working in the bank, and helping taking care of guests who are from other countries working for their governments. My club expierence at that time seemed very few, but I did learn many things from there. I tried to express how much and what I had learned from the club, but being nervous made me speak with nonesense. There were no order and clear main ideas in my speech. I lost my tempo and confidence.

When an interviewee finished his introduction, the interviewer started to ask you some questions. That was the moment to test your ability to deal with unexpected situation. After I finished my introduction, the interviewer asked me how well is my English. I answered I can have a coversation with foreigners, so he asked me whether I can have a short 30 seconds introduction of myself in English. At first I spoke about three sentences, and I froze. I didn’t know whether he wanted me to translate what I just said in Chinese into English, or I should just simply introduce my hobbies and other things. I froze like about 5 seconds, and I said out that I am nervous which was the biggest mistake. Never show them that you are nervous, at least try to hide this feeling. When it was the girl’s turn, I could tell that she was also nervous, but she hid the nervous part and calmed down. She answered every question he asked confidently and without haste. It was like she overcome all the obstacles steadyly and not afraid to face them.

After I got home, I thought about the interwiew again and again. At first I was very down because I didn’t do well. But then I fought back again, escaped away from this low atmosphere and frustration. I learned many things from this interview. If there won’t be a result as I hope to be, I would except it and keep working hard. In short, I’m glad I have this special expierence.

Make up with Eileen

Make-up is something that can make you more beauteous. Some people may not look good, but make-up makes them pretty. Some people are born to be lovely and make-up makes them more attractive. That is why make-up has its importance of existence.

Ann and I are interested in cosmetics. Especially, Ann has done more research on it. We usually use make-up to make ourselves look more energetic and certainly, prettier. In the following, Ann is going to show how she usually applies make-up and I am going to be the model for this demonstration.

I wash my face first before I put on make-up. Also, I will apply freshener and moisturizer. These are daily skincare after I wash my face.

The skin of Eileen’s forehead and nose is the oil part, and the skin of her chins is dry and sensitive. If we don’t take precautions to prevent her skin from being exposed to the sun, the ray will do harm to her skin. Therefore, use the sunscreen first. Here I choose these two kinds of sunscreen. Each has a different function. I would use the pink one on the oil part of her face and this can help her to control and delay the time that the oil comes out from her face. The white one is good for the dry part of her face because it is moisturizing.

The next is the foundation. The foundation can hide her pores, make her face smooth and the color of her face skin would be even. It is essential to decide which color of the foundation you are going to use. We need to choose the same color as your skin color instead of choosing the whiter one, or it would be odd and the color would be different from the skin color of your neck. Put the foundation on the back of the hand. We don’t need to use too much of the foundation. A shape like a yellow pea is enough. Put the foundation on her face, use the fingers to spread it and the temperature of my hand would make her make-up stay on her face perfectly.

Use light powder foundation to control the oil of her face and also conceal the blemish on her face.

Then, use the loose powder. Take the brush to wipe over her face lightly.

Finally, put on the light blush to give her a feeling of vividness and freshness.

As for the part of her eyes, she luckily has long eyelashes and big round eyes, so I don’t want to put on any make-up on this part.

To give her a bright spot on her face, her lips are definitely an important part. Now we are still students, so I choose to use the lip balm to moisturize her lips and give her face a look of energy.

After putting on make-up, I feel prettier since my pores, acnes and blemish are concealed and I feel that I can walk on the street confidently. When I get up early in the morning, I tend to have a sleepy face. Make-up does me a favor. I look more energetic under the magic of cosmetics. Make-up is like clothes, shoes or other things that we wear. We put on those fascinating clothing to make ourselves look pretty girls. By the same token, we put on make-up to make ourselves beauties.

One of My Important Choices

  We would make many decisions in our life. Some were forced by your family because they want you to live a better life. But we can't be always sure because we have different personalities; perhaps I have that strong determination to persevere and choose the other one that our families think it's too hard for me. I would enjoy and live with passion because it's my choice.
  I remember when I struggled to choose which college I should apply. There were two schools that I hesitated. One is Soochow university, another is in Hsinchu which my mom used to study there. It's easily to guess and know that my mom preferred me to study there instead of Soochow university. But I chose to study in Soochow university, and there are two reasons. One is because this school is in Taipei, the capital of this country. I wanted to see this world more, the bright side and the dark side of people. I believed to learn something really fast would be to throw you into a total strange environment where the life style is really fast. If you don't work harder, you would be easily replaced by another one. And that will urge me, because I know I am a passive girl.
  The other reason is to prove I was wrong. I used to hear my friends saying how arrogant and selfish people who live in Taipei are. They are arrogant because our government put all their main constructions in Taipei, and that makes people who live in Taipei to think they are better than those in the south because they have a better quality in life. And they are selfish because they care their benefits more and would harm other people to get what they want. At first I was a little bit scared, because I am not that smart. And I hate being fooled. It needed lots of courage for me to leave the sweet home to a total strange place which many people warned me before. But as I got here, I fell in love with this city and people here. There are many protesting activities and here you can hear many different brave people expressing their feelings. You would learn to dare to be yourself because here nobody appreciates people with no personalities. This city is a city that dares to ask for freedom and democracy. And I have met many nice people who were born in Taipei. They overthrow the stereotype and the average impressions. They are hardworking people who move forward to their dreams. They aren't afraid to chase what they want.
  Actually there are many other reasons, but these two are the main reasons. I don't regret what I chose. Even though sometimes when I looked back to some other choices, I would wish that the time can just go back. But I choose to look forward because these choices are made of who I am today. All you can do is to change your mood and to choose more carefully next time. Most of all, don't be afraid to choose what you want, let your instinct leads you, don't fight it.

Kinds of Friends

In our growing process, we meet many people, and we make friends. Often we make friends from our schools. And why making friends is so important? Because we can share same values, and we can learn different experiences from each other’s various backgrounds. We help each other to ease the sadness, and make the sweet things sweeter.

In my life, I split my friends into three categories. “Very close friends”, who can tell and share the secrets; “good friends”, friends that we share some information and know each other but not closer than the very close friends. Finally, “just friends”, friends whom I only say hi and know a little about them.

I am very lucky to have many very close friends. And I met them in different levels of my life. Some I have known for years, some I just met at college. And no matter how long I have known these people, the reason why they become my very close friends are because they would stay with me and listen to me whenever I am sad or happy. They would listen to my problems and give me some good advices. And they would share with me their daily details, secrets, and diverse views. I learn many things through our chatting. And we have the strong feelings that we trust each other. Often we don’t need to say much and we know each other’s thoughts. They make me feel safe and happy.

If the very close friends are ten percent of my category, then good friends would be fifty percent. These friends are mostly nice to talk to, and we would also share some problems from our life, but we wouldn’t tell each other everything, mostly we just tell the happy things to make the atmosphere better. We still have our secrets. And we usually go out with a group of friend. We are just not as close as the very close friends.

Finally, just friends. I’m glad I only have a few of them. Usually people in this category are boys. I don’t know why I have this tendency, I usually get nervous when I talk to guys. In this section, we usually just say hi, have some jokes and talk a little bit about daily lives. It’s just a regular asking to update each other’s new information. There are some shallow aspects that we only want to maintain this awkward “relationship”. But there are some exceptions that I still have some good male friends.

Although there are classification in friends, but not all are so accurate. Nobody can be put into a category. Everyone is unique, and it’s because there are many special, different qualities that these friends are precious. My life’s rich part is part from my friends. And I will cherish them as my most cherished treasure.

 
 
 

Český Krumlov Known as the Most Beauteous Ancient Town in Europe

When people ask, “Where do you want to go in Europe?”, my friend, Ann, and I’s answer will be Český Krumlov. We love travelling and even make a list, the top ten places we must go in our lives. Český Krumlov is on our list beyond question. It is a small city in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. Vltava wanders through this city and it forms a beautiful scene. More importantly, fine architecture makes it become the most fascinating old town in Eurpoe.

    We can sum up the art of architecture in Český Krumlov in four categories. Gothic, renaissance, baroque and neoclassical. It seems very difficult to distinguish these architectural features so we are going to tell you some simple ways to tell them. Here are explanations:

The Gothic architecture is easy to distinguish by the tall and pointed arches. You can see that in the following picture.

Next is the renaissance-style. Renaissance was boosted in the 16th century and it happened in Florence, Italy. Some Czeches studied there. When they went back to their country, they brought the idea of Renaissance. The traits of the renaissance buildings were grace, symmetry and decoration. Then, they combined the renaissance-style with the local style and created a special “Bohemian Renaissance.” The most special feature of the renaissance-style they learned from Italy is to “scrape.” They use this skill on the facade of the building. It appears that there are a great number of envelopes on it.

How to distinguish the baroque-style? The easiest way to distinguish the baroque building is that when you see the symbol of “@” at the corner of the building, this building would be baroque. This special symbol was often used on the buildings in the Baroque age. “@” is like the identity of the baroque-style.

Lots of faux columns and rows of windows are the characteristics of the neoclassical building. The classical Greece and Roman architecture inspired the neoclassical architects so that was how they got their idea. The protruding windows on the facade of the building is also a characteristic of the neoclassical building.

    Český Krumlov is appealing on account of the art of architecture. That is also why this town attracts us a lot. How can we miss the chance to see its beauty with our own eyes? Someday, we will stand on the land of Czech Republic and gasp at the wonderful view. We deeply hope to visit the most beautiful ancient town in Europe at least once in our lifetime.

The Smiles (2)

  I joined some clubs this semester. So my schedule was always that full. And I had to go to the elementary school to stay there on weekend. Because the club decided that we would held an activity there. The school was in Taoyuan. Which means I had to go back to my home on Friday, and I could only stay with my family for one day.  

  I didn't argue with my parent when they complain that I joined too many clubs. Because I was too tired to fight with them. They asked what for? You only feel exhausted and you spend lots of time and money, but you get nothing.  I knew they were worrying about me, I understood that they just want me to take care of myself. And since I'm not the person who is good at taking care of myself, they usually help me to. But I just went to take a shower because I wanted to gain more sleeping time. When I was in the bathroom, something suddenly stroke my mind. I remembered that I didn't have a sleeping bag, then where am I supposed to sleep when I am in the elementary school? So I rushed out and asked my mom whether there was one at home. She pondered for a while, and said no. At that moment, I decided that I would sleep on the floor of that school and freeze to die. And I went back to take the shower again. When I came out, no one was there. I didn't think too much, I just wanted to go to bed and shut my eyes. 

  When I finally finished everything, I heard a sound. That was the sound of the gate of our basement. I knew my parent were out, but I didn't know what for, especially at ten o'clock in the evening. I thought they were having a walk along the street. But they came home with a sleeping bag.  I was shock at first, and then I asked them where did they get this. Of course they bought it, I asked a silly question, but the reason why I was shock was not because how they bought it, but when they bought it. It was really dark out side, and nearly there were no stores opening. But they kept searching the sleeping bag for me. 

  My dad put down the sleeping bag, with a smile but also a worried look. His lips rose a little bit, just a little bit but I could see all the details that he was truly happy because his daughter is not going to be frozen for sleeping on the floor. He felt satisfied, and his eyes also smiled. My mother smiled too. Her smile was really big, so big that her cheeks were so bright and round. Her eyes became so thin and slim when she smiled. Her teeth all came out to see me. It was the most beautiful scene I ever seen. And the vision became a little bit blur, for there was some tears rolling in my eyes. 

  It was just a simple movement, so simple and so little, but so warm. I smiled too. I didn't know how I look at then, but I'm sure that picture was beautiful. Because my heart was full of warmth and gratitude. I love my parent, and I appreciate what they have done for me. When we were little, we might not understand the hard-work they did for us. And we might even blame them for doing this. But now I understand some feeling of my parent. And I am really grateful. I know they really care about us. They love me and will continue to love me with all their hearts. 

The smiles

  There are many people around me. And the most important part of my life would be family, and then friends.
  I remembered last friday,when I finally was available to go home, I had another appointments on last saturday and sunday. There was an activity of the club, and we had to stay in the elementary school for two days. And when I got home, I realized I didn't have a sleeping bag. I asked my mothere whethere there is one at home, but there was none.
  Then I took the shower, I didn't think too much. When I finally finished it, my parent weren't there. And then they came home after a while. They took a sleeping bag, and I asked them where they bought it. They just smiled at me, and put the sleeping bag on the floor. They felt like they had finished something. They felt satisfied for I don't have to worry anything anymore. I couldn't get my eyes off them. Their smiles are still so vivid. My mother's mouth rose just a little bit, and her face was pale and there were some wrinkles when she smiled. Especialy around her eyes, there were so many. And when she smiled, her teeth would shine and her smile, people may thought ordinary and simple, but for me it is the most beautiful thing in the world. And my father, although he smiled, but with a little bit concern and worry. I know that look, he worried if I would be too tired. But he tried to hide so that I wouldn't worry about him. But devil is in the detail, and I know that we all know each other's thoughts. He turned his head. And I looked at another direction.
  There was nothing to explain, neverless I know what is the most important to me and I want to do my best to protect something I really care, my family.

Paragraphs p.47

Summary:
  Martin is the boyfriend of Hadley, the author of this article. He came from a broken family and became one of the members of the gang. Hadley was attracted to him because of his bad boy image and he brought excitement that she couldn't feel before. Before she met Martin, she was obedient and good.
  She started to ditch school, she lost her friends and made her family feel sad.  And one day at the party she had a breaking point. Some people came to their house to hunt Martin. And Martin's uncle was dead because of the gun shot. Since then, Hadley had more and more arguments with Martin. Martin was farther from her and closer to the gang. Now he's in the jail. And Hadley prayed every night hope that this will be the last time. She becomes sober and starts to contact with her family again and has an education.

Reaction: 
  "She is the dumbest girl I have ever seen". That was my first idea that just popped out of my brain when I finished the story. How can a girl leave her family and her friends to hang out with someone like that who is not being considerate and violate? I thought girls are smarter now and because of high education, we can "choose" our mates wisely. We don't have to be chosen by them. We have the "choice". And I got to say, that girl made a very bad choice. But you can't expect everyone's life just so smooth going. Someone must pass through some obstacles then he or she can finally realize the warmth from his or her family. 
   Like my sister, she doesn't appreciate what my parent have done for her. Sometimes she said some bad words and even hoped that she came from a family which there were no parent. And I just felt angry whenever she had that kind of thought. I wish one day she can understand that our parent are the two people who love us more than anyone in this world. 

The First Car Accident

  I got the driver license after the exam. I remember this happened in the summer. And my parent encouraged me to have the diving classes so that I could help them while they are busy. And I said yes because then I could drive my friends or my family to anywhere I want. And that's the beginning of the next following tragedy.
  When I got the driver license, I couldn't wait to drive the car on the "real" road. So the next day, I did. But I only tried this in the remote area because I was still a "fresh" driver. At first it all went well. The road was big, wide and only with few cars. The most important was that it was straight forward. I started to feel confident about it. So I drove the car on the roads which were in the downtown. And it all went quiet well  until I wanted to park the car in the garage. In front of our garage, there was our neighbor's garage. So the passage  between these garages were narrow. I tried first to turn, then I drove forward. But just when I drove forward, I didn't do well on measuring. So I bumped into the garage of our neighbor. And the sound was big and I was panic. I didn't know what to do. I only heard the footsteps of my whole family. They were first shocked. And my father just awkwardly helped me to drive the car into the garage. The neighbor wasn't home. Or if they heard of it, they would rush to run down to there to see what was happening.

  I went to see whether anything was broken and we should compensate them for their loss. Fortunately there wasn't any big  bad thing happened. I was safe and my parent told the neighbor the truth. And they didn't mind so we didn't pay any money. But since then, I fear sometimes that I might do this again. I was fear to drive the car into the garage. I was fear to park the car beside the road. I was even fear to let my family or friends to take a ride.  But my father encouraged me to practice more because he came through all this just like I did. I guess everything is hard to begin, all you need to do is to practice more to get familiar with it.

Topic Sentence 2~6

2.  Making barbecue could be very complicated, but exciting. The process of creating the barbecue is even more fun and important than the result.  First, the family has to decide on matters such as exactly what kinds of food and in what quantities.  Next, shopping is often done by two or more family members, while the others stay at home to prepare the grill, the table, and the tableware.  When everyone is ready to start grilling, the smells from the roasting food and the sound of the crackling coals make everyone super hungry.  A constant stream of people and dishes floods out from the kitchen onto the backyard table, just like ants finding and saving their food.  Finally, when all the food is ready and the cold drinks have been poured, a barbecue symbolizes summer itself.

 3.  You can’t have the same night lifestyles out of Taipei. If you are a resident of Taipei and travel overseas, one of the first things you will notice is that during the evening hours, cities seem to close their doors before the night has even begun.  Supermarkets, department stores, and drugstores close before 9:00 p.m.  Movies stop playing and buses and subways stop running before midnight.  The sidewalks are nearly empty, and few cars venture forth on the streets.  In Taipei, however, one can play 24 hours every day.  Movies run until the early hours of the morning, KTVs and MTVs operate 24 hours, and crowded discos and pubs play loud music to dancers and drinkers until dawn.  In Taipei, the nights are as busy as the days.

4.  Dictionaries are not just for you to look up words, but also have other functions that you may not notice before. We all know about looking up words in dictionaries, and perhaps finding cities in an atlas or a description of some fact in an encyclopedia, but few of us realize that these books can also be a source of pleasure.  Dictionaries, for example, not only contain the meaning and pronunciation of words.  They can also tell us where the words come from or how to distinguish similar words.  Atlases, too, not only show maps of countries; they contain interesting information about race, language, history, and biology.  Encyclopedias can be entertaining: just choose one, open it up, and start learning about something you never knew before!  We too often use reference books in a hurry; we should realize that they can be as much fun as they are useful.

 5.  Taking trains is a fashion that will never fade. In this modern world with faster means of transportation available to more people, the train nevertheless continues to be popular.  In most countries, train tickets are often sold out.  Why do so many people want to take the train?  Perhaps it is because they are reasonably priced--cheaper than an airplane--and have large windows from which we can comfortably view the passing world.  Maybe trains are popular because they never get stuck in traffic jams, as cars and buses often do.  Another reason may be that trains are older and sometimes seem a little romantic.  For whatever reason, do not be surprised to see people preferring trains to other modes of transportation far into the future.

 6.  Do you know the differences between snack food, junk food, and fast food? Actually, they are easy to distinguish.  Snack food refers to any food which is eaten between the three primary meals of breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  Snack food can be any kind of food, such as leftovers, fruit, candy, and a sandwich.  Junk food refers to any food which is not nutritious and may actually be bad for us, such as candy, deep-fried meat, and doughnuts.  Finally, the term fast food is used for foods cooked at fast-food restaurants.  Some fast food is also junk food, as it contains too much salt and oil.  In short, when you want some snack food, don’t eat junk food or fast food!

Cellphone Missing

  When i went abroad, i lost my passport on the airplane and my cellphone on bus. It seems like i am a blurred person and always get myself into troubles. i was terrified of losing my passport. And i feel sorry that i have to feel this fear again when i lost my cellphone yesterday.

  Yesterday morning, i was going to take a bus. And i found a seat so i sat down. And my stop was finally coming. I got up without any conscious that my cellphone was leaving on the seat. And i just went to class. But i didn't need it so i hadn't discovered that it had missing. And when i was about to have a lunch with my friends, i couldn't find it. I was panic and my tears couldn't stop shedding. My friends were all very concerned and they tried their best to help me by searching the internet, calling numbers of the bus stop and so on. I was terrified that i couldn't do anything. So i dropped out of some classes that day.
  And there is one friend i would like to particularly thank her because she drove me all the way to the bus stop to ask whether they found it. i felt warmth when i was in despair. There were many people tried to make me laugh and when i finally found my cellphone, they were truly happy for me.
  I am glad that in my whole life, i meet many nice people. And although yesterday i almost lost my patience when i was talking on the phone with the police. I still don't like their complicated applying process and i hate it. But still i learned many knowledge and this event will keep me alert.

When i'm down

  Recently i am busy between the clubs and scholarship. I am not that kind of person that follow the schedule. Actually i don't even have one. Still I finish my homework before the deadline. And as a result, i didn't do well on my report.  
  I didn't feel sad. Because i already knew what i will get. I once hear someone said that if you want something to be successful, then spend more of your time in it. I chose to finish the things in the club first. And i am responsible for that choice. No one force me to choose, i chose by myself. Therefore i didn't blame for anything or anyone but me. Because i promised myself that i would do better in the sophomore year. I don't want to be like in freshman year, lazy and muddled. Well, it's easy to say but it's hard to do. I am just greedy because i want a little bit of this and a little bit of that. And eventually i didn't do anything well. But i am not kind of that girl that will easily be frustrated. Because i know what i want to achieve in this year. So i will continue to do those things that i think are right.

  And luckily i have a group of friends that will listen to me and help me unleash my negative emotions. Yesterday i went with my roommates and we had a great time playing bowling. And of course we shared many funny things. I realize that there are many other important things too. Although now we study separately, but i will always cherish this special friendship.

  However i will continue to be that positive girl and be passionate about the things i do. And i won't be so easily to be defeated. Nothing is easy to achieve, but if you don't try hard, there is no way to success. And when i'm down, i know i always have a group of friends behind my back supporting me. So if you have the same problem like me, why don't you just slow down and take a break! And when you are ready, don't hesitate. Just fight for it!

What is the most important skill in the 21 century?

  There is a new cell phone coming soon. And then less then a month, another new cell phone is about to come. The change of technology is fast and silent. People are getting used with these changes and adapt to this kind of life.
  So i would say the most important skill in the 21 century would be the ability of keep learning new knowledge and learn it deeply. The environment  changes fast. If you don't let yourself fit in to the order, then try to make yourself more valuable. Never try to learn something new because your boss told you so. But to achieve the better level and to persuade excellence. Eventually the success will come to you.
  I've seen many people complained that there are more new stuff they aren't familiar with and there are new generations going to replace them just because they know something new. But i think the problem isn't about the new generations but about the fast changes of this world now. In case of the danger of being replaced by them, you should first increase your knowledge. Not trying to catch up this world's trend but to be on the top of it. And last, you always keep a passionate heart to learn something new. You'll find that nothing can beat you down easily.

Massage

  I went to massage today. Recently i had headache and my body's situations were bad. So i went there with my roommate.
  At first there were some choices, and with different choices there were different prices. So we both chose the 400 NT dollars massage. And we can have a massage above our waist for thirty minutes. We prostrated ourselves comfortably and began it.
  He started from my neck, and then shoulder to the waist. The whole process i was in pain, tickled but relax. During this process, the one who did massage for me said i had seldom stretch my muscles. That's why i often felt pain when he pushed some places of my body. It was a special expierence, and i like this way to relax.
  I recommond you guys to try it. Although i screamed very often and had a very awkward memory. Forgive that i can't tell more details about my awkward expierence because it was really embarassing. But i can surely tell you that you got to try at least one time in your life time.
  And that's my funny story this week. I will share the next story with you guys next week. See you next week!

ME

   My name is Ann. I'm from Taoyuan. I live in a family with my parents, a one-year younger sister, and my brother who studied in junior high school.

  My parents are both teachers who teach in the elementary school, i guess that is why i'm competitive. When i was 7, i was eager to be number one so that my parents could be proud of me. But as i growing up, i found out that there are many other important things. Being number one wasn't the only option to make them proud. Although they disagreed since they thought studying is the only way to make sure my future is well-going. I wanted to do something different.

  I started to rebel against them.  I joined many clubs because i wanted my school life not just being boring but exciting and colorful. And i did have an "okay" balance during homework and fun. i say okay because i am not satisfied with my scores of big exams. Honestly i'm still a little bit regret that if i studied harder then i would get into another university. But it doesn't matter anymore. Because this is my choice, and i'm the one who will be responsible for what i chose.  And i'm glad my parents support my choice and still love me for who i am.

  I'm lucky to have them. And i am also lucky to have many good friends. I think the greatest advantage about joining clubs is that you can meet many nice people and have a chance to become friends. I prefer myself as an outgoing girl because i like to make friends. I think life without friends is miserable. And i like to smile. In my opinion, "smiling is the best language through all over the world." I like to make people laugh so i can see smiles and warmth. I think it's one of my skills to make people laugh and i think it's a good thing.

  Well, i guess that's the best i can do to introduce myself. But if you want to know me better, why don't you start trying to know me first? Maybe we'll become friends!